Israeli Deputy: no Jewish Settlements will Remain in Gaza Strip

Published July 13th, 2000 - 03:00 GMT

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators at the Middle East peace summit in Camp David have agreed that no Jewish settlements will remain in the Gaza strip

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators at the Middle East peace summit in Camp David have agreed that no Jewish settlements will remain in the Gaza strip, an Arab member of Israel's parliament said Thursday.

"Not a single settler will be allowed to remain in the Gaza strip," said Ahmed Tibi.

"The settlements in the region will not be dismantled, but no settlers will remain," Tibi told the Knesset in comments aired on Israeli radio.

He said that the information on the secretive talks -- hosted by US President Bill Clinton at Camp David, Maryland -- came from a "very senior source among the delegates at the Camp David negotiations".

Far-right MP Zvi Hendel said that he would be prepared to swap sovereignty over Israeli settlements in Gaza and the West Bank for the emptying of Arab villages within Israeli territory.

Clinton launched the high-stakes gamble at his mountain retreat on Tuesday with a series of meetings with Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.

Clinton and his Israeli and Palestinian guests have enforced a media blackout to aid the search for peace – OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AFP)